An Above and Beyond Shooter Game

The BBC, of all media entities, created a lowbrow game in tandem with its TV comedy show, Look Around You called DIARRHEA DAN. Dan has trouble finding a clean toilet, so you have to help him find one. Part trivia, the game lets you know that the average human spends three years on the throne during his or her lifetime.

Beyond the quirky, there's the addictive. In BEJEWELED, for instance, you align gemstones horizontally and vertically, level after level. It's easy to pick up, but hard to master, the perfect litmus test for an online game. I found myself addicted to LIGHTNING POOL, in which the designers created so many variations on the classic game that you can't stop playing. Hard core pool players will eschew this game, but I love the playing pool with, say, a golf putter. It's simply one of the most creative casual games on the Web today.

photo: Eidos Interactive

Urban Chaos will help you sleep at night.

Details

Urban Chaos: Riot Response
Publisher: Eidos
Developer: RockSteady
Platform: PS2, Xbox

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• Robert Louis Stevenson
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• Video Games

While there are no print publications devoted to casual gaming, Millions of Games on the Web collects and links to so many new ones each day, you'll likely find it hard to keep up. Start with the site's listing of Top Ten games (currently Lightning Pool leads the pack of the most played games).

Most of the U.S. TV networks have computer games based on their hit shows. The supernatural mystery show, Lost, in fact, has three of them on the show's official site, the best of which is a short adventure game in which you traverse the island. It's not only compelling, it's as creepy as the show itself. You can also find games based on the TV game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel Of Fortune online.

Casual games are geared toward busy adults, primarily women. But whatever age you are, once you begin looking, you're sure find casual game that will suit you, one that you can't stop playing. You'll probably meet some pals online when you play, too. Is a MySpace for casual gamers far behind? Probably not.